Enough Time
by Ihavenoideahowtobreath
Summary: A what-if story of Robin convincing Lucina to join the Shepherds after Validar's attempted assassination.


To try and get back into story writing, I wrote this. I don't remember FE:A's story much, so I'm taking some creative license.

* * *

" _Tell me and be honest. When the time comes...will you be able to kill me?"_

* * *

It was the eve of Validar's infiltration and failed attempt at Lady Emmeryn's life. With the last of the assassins thrown away and a long day of traveling ahead of them, the Shepherds found themselves blessed with the opportunity of a good night's sleep. Though it seemed that more than a few were still awake. This included Chrom and the Exalt herself. Though the prince was relieved to have a moment of rest, his concern for his sister's life outweighed his exhaustion. He took it upon himself to follow her around just in case there were any strays crawling about.

"Chrom," said Emmeryn. "How many times am I going to have to assure you that I will be fine for tonight? Will you please turn in and get some sleep? We'll be traveling for quite a ways tomorrow." As a precaution, the Shepherds had decided to escort the Exalt to the eastern palace for her own safety. And after that, they would be making their way to Plegia's border for a confrontation most likely of the undiplomatic kind.

"You can never be too sure," Chrom responded as he scanned the area outside Emmeryn's room. "It was too close today. I can't rest easily until I'm 100% sure that no one will come after you." Being the patient person she was, Emmeryn gently shook her head.

"I can see how tired you are. If you really want to keep patrolling, you won't be able to keep yourself awake tomorrow. I understand your feelings. But you and I need rest. Unless...you would prefer if you and Lissa spent the night with me like old times?" Though the offer would have made Lissa jump with excitement, the prince was more than embarrassed at the idea of sharing a bed with his sisters again.

"I-I don't think this is the time for jokes. Besides, we've gotten too old for that sort of thing."

"I suppose," Emmeryn responded with a disappointed sigh. "But still, we should all be taking rest. Please, for me?"

"...Alright. Good night, sister."

"Good night, Chrom. Oh, and if you happen to see Robin on your way, do give him my thanks for leading yet another successful battle. It seems he walked away not long ago."

"I thought _I_ was the leader of the Shepherds," Chrom muttered which elicited a gentle chuckle from Emmeryn.

"Do not be like that, Chrom. You are a fine leader. Better than anyone could hope for. Now go." And with that, Emmeryn disappeared behind the doors of her room. Immediately, two soldiers came by to stand guard outside. Seeing that she was properly guarded, Chrom had no choice but to turn back. As she said, his tactician who had been by his side in his patrols was nowhere to be seen. Another figure unaccounted for included the elusive character known as "Marth." Thoughts immediately returned to the moment when the assassin had tried to kill him, only for him -or rather _her_ \- to come to his aid. He couldn't help but think that he was missing something important. He didn't know why, but something about her face seemed...familiar. Chrom ultimately pushed those thoughts aside, deciding that sleep was what he needed right now.

"Still, I wonder where that tactician of mine has run off to at this hour?" He asked himself.

* * *

As Lucina prepared to leave the castle, she took one last look at its glory. A swelling of pride filled her chest at the thought that her duty had been fulfilled. Now that both Emmeryn and the Fire Emblem were safe from the hands of the enemy, perhaps the awful future she came from would be replaced by something far better.

"It was nice seeing you again, father," she whispered. "Maybe I'll see you and everyone else again." The future princess turned towards the woods where it would be harder for any of them to track her and began the next part of her journey.

But perhaps fate had other plans for her than night, for her sprint was cut off prematurely, by something truly unexpected. With a press of her right foot on an unsuspecting pile of leaves, the future princess found herself in a sticky situation.

CRASH

"Kya!" Lucina felt her body push through a thin layer of "ground" and plunged into a makeshift hole. In other words, she fell into a pitfall. "Ow, ow, ow." While ultimately unscathed -the spikes she expected replaced with a pile of leaves- Lucina instinctively rubbed her back and breathed in hard through her clenched teeth. "Naga, I hope no one saw that." Luck was not with her.

"Well would you look at that~" announced a mischievous but familiar voice. "Looks like I caught myself a hero-king. Or is it hero- _queen_? Hell, by the sound of that yell, perhaps it's best to call you the hero- _princess_. Hehehe." Lucina shot her head up to meet Robin, who was lying on the ground and leaning over the hole just a few feet out of her reach. Bringing her hand to her Falchion, she was surprised to catch nothing but air where her hilt should've been. "I'm assuming that you're looking for this?" In Robin's left hand, he held the legendary sword as if it were one of those wooden swords children bought at the market. "I took it while you were busy falling for my trap. I can't have you stabbing me just yet, not until we've had a talk."

Ignoring him, Lucina looked for a way out. The walls were far too wide for her to try spider-climbing them. And even if she could, they were just muddy enough to stop her from getting a grip while being strong enough not to collapse on her. He had prepared for everything, that damn tactician. Accepting that she was properly trapped, all she could do was address the problem at the source.

"And why should I trust you?" Lucina shot back. "You have me trapped in a hole. How did you even make something like this so quickly? It hasn't been long since we parted at the castle." Robin feigned offense.

"How can I call myself a tactician if I can't even make a simple pitfall at a moment's notice? It's pretty much in the job description. Besides, it says a lot about you if you can fall for a childish prank." Lucina stopped, realizing that he had a point. In the heat of the moment, she had let her guard down and missed something that even Owain would have noticed. She felt her face go hot from embarrassment. "If I promise not to tell anyone about all of this, will you have a chat with me?" He shook Falchion as an incentive. Though angry as she was, Lucina had no choice but to accept. There was no way she could leave her sword behind.

"...Fine. Let me out of here first."

"Yeah...no." Standing up, Robin jumped into the hole with her, but not before sticking her sword at the top. "If I let you out, I risk the chance of you trying to run away again. You've already gotten away from us twice, what with our first encounter with the Risen and that fight with Chrom at Regna Ferox. Third time's the charm, I guess. Now scoot back. Let me have some space to sit." Lucina gladly put as much space as she could between them, which was at least 2 Kellams with the sides of their large shells touching. Robin silently apologized to the gentle giant for using him as a measuring unit. Naga knows, he might've followed him and seen him trap "Marth" and he wouldn't have known.

He gathered a bunch of the leaves and twigs towards the center of the pit while making sure nothing else would start burning before whispering, "Fire." A small wisp of flame pooled out of his outstretched finger and into the pile of leaves. He tended to the flame oh so carefully, ready to extinguish if needed. "Sorry this is taking so long. It's just that Ylissean nights get pretty cold, you know?" Allowing him his work, Lucina took the time to examine the tactician for any signs of hostility but found nothing. She wasn't sure if that was a good thing.

To Lucina, Robin was an enigma whether it was the Robin from her time or the one right in front of her. In that respect, they were the same. He was unpredictable, to say the least, but never disappointed when it came to the battlefield. From what she saw when spying on the Shepherds, Robin often trained whenever they had the time. He trained under Chrom and Lon'qu when it came to swordplay and with Miriel and Ricken when it came to magic. And when he wasn't doing that, he was often reading, solving puzzles, or developing a large variety of strategies for varying situation, no matter how unlikely. Considering his obviously busy schedule, you wouldn't expect the man to be the trickster he was.

It was when he had free time that Robin's playful demeanor fully came out. When he wasn't having a friendly chat with his fellow Shepherds, he would often pull pranks on them. They were all in good taste though, and he claimed that it was to keep their senses honed. He believed that when everyone could disassemble his pranks, then he had nothing more to teach them. Lucina had to wonder if her aunt had any influence on him.

Comparing this Robin to the one from her time, she could see a big difference. The Future Robin was always either shut in his home or on a mission far away. It was reasonable, what with the impending doom looming across the horizon like a creeping shadow. All the charm and energy he had in his youth vanished along with his sense of companionship. Mostly, anyway. When she was young, he would often visit the castle for a talk with Chrom and the others. And when he was in a particularly good mood, he'd find himself entertaining the next generation of Shepherds. She could vaguely remember him showcasing his magic or telling embarrassing stories about Ylisse's king. Lucina couldn't deny that at those times, she appreciated the tactician's company distracting them from thoughts of the future, But even those small moments vanished that one terrible day.

That's where things got...complicated. No one ever expected Chrom to just die the way he did, since he was known for surviving impossible circumstances. That's when people started talking. Rumors spread through the land about how Chrom was murdered by his closest friend. And seeing how the tactician disappeared on the same day of her father's death, she couldn't help but speculate herself. She couldn't think of anyone else who could fit the bill of her father's closest friend than the man in front of her tending to the small fire.

"There you go," he said proudly. With the cold problem out of the way, Robing finally focused his attention to Lucina. He offered a kind smile. "Come on, you must be cold. This isn't a fire for one person." Lucina hesitantly got up and placed herself closer to the fire. She began brushing the leaves and twigs from her now unsheathed hair and throwing them into the flames. "Now, how about we start with the hard part?" In an instant, that soft smile vanished and transformed into a serious scowl. His eyes dispelled all hospitality, making even her feel a bit intimidated by the sudden change. "Who exactly are you?"

"What do you mean? I've already introduced yourself."

"With a name clearly meant to be a front. I have much doubt that people would dare desecrate the name of the legendary hero-king by naming their child after him. Now, 'Marth,' allow me to ask again. Who are you?" This time, Lucina stayed silent and opted to match Robin's glare with her own. "Not gonna talk, huh? I was afraid of that. I really didn't want this to become a one-sided conversation, but if it has to, it has to." From the inside of his coat, the man produced a small notepad and flipped through it. "If you would allow me, I'd like to share with you some of what I've come up with. Do feel free to chime in when you want. Let's see, why don't we start with...your obsession with Chrom. The first time you showed up, Lissa claimed that you came out of a portal and saved her and her brother. That might've been a coincidence. But then you showed up at the coliseum to fight Chrom himself. And what do you know, the next time we meet, you protect him from an assassin. It's clear that he's of some importance to you. Why else would you want to keep him safe? You could just be a huge fan, but there's something bothering me. And by that, I mean…" He pointed up to her sword stuck to the ground above them.

"The legendary Falchion; weapon of the hero-king himself. I understand that it is a valuable blade and a part of the Ylissean royal treasury. That means that there should only be _one_. Again, there's the possibility that you're such a fan that you had a replica made for you. But there's something unique about the Falchion. Do you know it?" He egged the girl on to answer him, to which she reluctantly complied.

"...It can only be used by members of the royal bloodline?"

"Exactly. And even further, it needs approval from the sword itself. In anyone else's hands, it becomes dull and weak. Now when I held that sword not too long ago, I had a few test swings and it was exactly that. Dull. But with you, it does all manners of cutting and stabbing. That can only mean, even if it seems downright strange, that they are one and the same. Which brings us to the next question: How can there be two Falchions? Well?"

"If it's all the same to you," Lucina said stiffly. "I would rather you keep talking." Though she had a brave face, she felt nothing short of fear and disbelief. The idea that Robin could have figured out so much baffled her to no end.

"Okay then. I stated that they were the same blade, but there is indeed a difference. And that difference leads to something big. Now I've seen Chrom's Falchion multiple times to the point that I could recognize even the slightest scratch. And after looking at _your_ sword, well...The implications are a bit too much for me to comprehend, no matter how much it makes sense. You see, your Falchion contains all of the marks and scratches as the original. But...yours contains more than his, Now in this situation, one would think, 'perhaps the user is less experienced than Chrom. He or she might not be as skilled to wield such a weapon.' No offense, but you're not as strong as Chrom. But you're also not reckless. If you know how to fight like him, I assume you also know how to take care of something so important. That means that the scratches on your Falchion could only come from other hard-fought battles. Battles Chrom's Falchion hasn't fought. Yet."

"S-so what does that mean?" She should have known that direct interaction with the Shepherds was a bad idea. Had she remained in the shadows, her identity wouldn't have been brought into question, And sure, just having a similar looking sword - especially when its famous - elicited suspicion, but deduction of this degree was unheard of. "After all this, where does it all lead to?" She flinched when a smirk played on his lips.

"I hope you don't mind, Ms. Marth, but I've been staring at you this whole time. And I hate to brag, but I take pride in my keen sense of sight," Suddenly, Robin stood up and walked to Lucina's side. He extended his hand in mock chivalry to help her up. Robin stood a head a head above her, but nonetheless, she stared into his eyes as if they were the same. And he did no different. "There it is," he whispered to her. "My final clue." Lucina knew exactly what he was looking at, but chose not to falter. At this point, what good would fighting do? "The Brand of the Exalt; the mark that ties you to Chrom. And when you add in the resemblance in appearance, fighting style and a sword that has seen more battle than his, you get...a descendant from the future."

"How could you have known?" Lucina demanded.

"Because the job of the tactician is to imagine even the craziest of possibilities. And when the gods can actively interact with humanity, even something like time travel can become possible. Now...Who are you? For real this time." A sigh of defeat escaped the princess's lips. Its seemed she was beaten. Was it because of her blunder with her mask? She couldn't believe that a single person could unveil her identity.

"...My name...is Lucina. I am the daughter of Chrom."

"Lucina," Robin repeated as if testing it out. "It's a wonderful name for the daughter of a remarkable man," With a final smirk, Robin separated himself from the princess and returned to his spot across the fire. An awkward silence befell the two as Lucina's knees buckled from shock. The whole ordeal caused a headache that threatened to make her head explode.

"So now you know my secret. What are you going to do with the information? Use it as blackmail?"

"What? Of course not. I _could,_ but there's no reason for that sort of action. Besides, I'm not that kind of person. What I want is information."

"Information?"

"Yes."

"I would think that with your skills in observation and deduction, you could piece together my story."

"While it's not a lie that I have some speculation, I think all this talking has made my throat parched and I neglected to bring some water. I would like to hear _you_ talk, if you don't mind."

"Um...I don't know where to start. Let's see...As I've said, my name is Lucina. I am the daughter of Chrom and Sumia."

"Sumia? Figures." Lucina felt mischief coming from the smile that suddenly appeared on the tactician's face.. Perhaps revealing her mother's identity was just another mistake. "I'm sorry, I think I'm going to have fun with that one."

"...Anyway, I hail from the future. More than twenty years, to be exact. It actually won't be long until I will be born in this time. But I digress. Long into the future, everything has changed. I left at a time of war. A war against a most impossible power. Suffice to say, there was no way for us to win. As a last resort, Naga allowed a group of us to try and stop the threat before it could rise to power. We all stepped into the portal at once, but it seems we were all separated. I was lucky enough to land near your group when I arrived. It allowed me to track my father faster than I would have ever expected. But now, I worry about my friend's whereabouts." Lucina clenched her fists. The tactician could get a feeling of just how deeply she cared about her companions. "Naga allowed us to travel back so that we could prevent that terrible war from ever happening. If we succeed, then we'll be saving the future and all the lives that were extinguished."

"Who exactly were we fighting?" Robin questioned. The way Lucina talked about her war showed how hopeless any chance of winning was. He shivered to think that anyone who could wield so much power.

"If it's all the same to you, I'd rather not say it out loud. Its name alone fills me with dread."

"Sounds like a very ominous foe indeed. Fine, I'll steer the conversation away from that topic. What can you tell me about tonight? Was something big going to happen if we didn't make it?" Lucina silently thanked Robin and continued with her story.

"Tonight marked the turning point that set the world towards absolute destruction. My aunt, the Exalt Emmeryn, was assassinated in my history by Validar and his men. The assassins that targeted my father also managed to seriously injure him. This would eventually lead to his downfall many years later. Because of my interference, I have prevented both of these and in doing so, I believe I have steered fate away from the horrible future I belonged to. Emmeryn's death resulted in the Plegian army gaining control of the Fire Emblem which in turn, caused war to break out between the two nations. Miraculously, my father was able to win that battle and soon married my mother and had me,"

"Well your time and mine have one thing in common. By the look of things, we're still going to war with Plegia. I can only hope that the results stay the same."

"I have no doubt that with my father in perfect condition, victory will once more come for the Shepherds."

"Let's hope, yeah? So? What will you do now? Looks like your job is done here." A sad smile played on Lucina's lips.

"I want to find my friends...We were separated when we were sent back and I haven't seen them since. I don't even know if they're alright."

"I see. Well if that's the case, then I have a proposition for you that should help the both of us."

"And that is?"

"Join us. The Shepherds, I mean. We're at war. And while I believe we're capable enough not to get ourselves killed, the extra help from someone as skilled and strong as you will no doubt tip the scales even more in our favor. And in return, I promise you I will help you find your friends. Intel gathering is a specialty of mine. I can gather rumors here and there for any strange warriors suddenly appearing."

"You would do that?"

"I would do whatever it takes to help Chrom. I owe him my life. And being his daughter, my services extend to you as well."

"I don't know what to say. Would it even be right to interact with the past to this degree?"

"You don't realize it, do you? You traveled time and changed history. From this point on, everything you know is wrong. While your Plegian war has already been won, ours has just started. And with new variables. Now I doubt that Chrom will be easy to kill. But who's to say that this new future doesn't have something different planned for your father? If you were with him, you could personally keep him safe." From the look on Lucina's face, he could tell that she hadn't thought it all the way through. He couldn't really blame her. From her story, he figured that she had to mature rather quickly to take charge in Chrom's place. To be blunt, she didn't have nearly as much skills to be a leader. "You've already messed with the timeline. Wouldn't it be better to protect your mother and father if youwere right there by their side?"

Lucina searched Robin's face once more. There was no playfulness in his eyes at that moment. Only determination. She considered her options. He was right that it would be more efficient to protect her father as an ally rather than a shadow. And seeking her friends would be easier if someone like Robin was head of that operation. Being by herself in an time she was unfamiliar with was risky. Hell, even managing to make her way to Ragna Ferox for her confrontation with her father was a hassle and a pain to set up. Her concern came at the possibility of the Shepherds accepting her. And of course she had to take on a whole new identity and make sure her origins were kept under wraps. It seemed impossible with the fact she carried around Falchion and fought like Chrom.

"...I see your point, but…I can't risk him finding out that I'm his daughter."

"You have your mask, don't you? I doubt that anyone else will come to the conclusion that I have, but one look at your eye will certainly make people think. I'll tell Chrom that I caught you before you could run off and convinced you to come with us."

"Is that really all it takes?"

"If he could recruit someone he just happened to find lying on the ground, I'm sure that he'll have no trouble recruiting one who helped save the exalt's life. Hell, we just recruited a mercenary from the group that worked with Validar. The only real problem is Frederick. He's very protective and suspicious. I still catch him eyeing me from across the room sometimes."

"Oh, I know what you mean. He hasn't changed much in the future." The two shared a laugh at that, but it soon dissolved back into the uneasy silence. Only the crackling of the fire and the calm blowing of the wind through the trees filled the air. Lucina stared at the tactician curiously. She considered herself pretty observant, but no amount of analyzation yielded anything when it came to the man in front of her. He was a complete enigma. And that made her uneasy. Especially since he seemed so calm at the whole idea of her coming from the future. You'd think he'd be panicking, or better yet, consider her story an expertly crafted joke. But there he was, tending to the flames as if it was a normal night. Robin looked up to meet her gaze. A small grin graced his face.

"Trying to get a read on the old tactician, are you?" he asked. She could make out a hint of excitement in his voice. The princess felt the blood rush to her face at being caught. "How's that working out for you?"

"U-um...nothing at all…" To her surprise, his smile dropped just a bit. It was so fast, she was surprised she caught it at all.

"Really? That's a shame. Did future me never teach you kids any skills?" Lucina couldn't help but wince at the mention of himself in the future. Unfortunately, Robin caught that momentary action but didn't try to question her. Perhaps there were some things even he didn't want to know. Lucina was quick to change the subject.

"Well...I may have heard some things. From father at least. Said you tried to teach him some things, but he never got it."

"No...I guess he never did. Well then. Why don't you try to read me again. You seem keen to find any reason to distrust me. I'll give you one more shot." He tended back to the fire, giving Lucina another chance to try and read him. It seemed futile. There was nothing she could see that could hint at something deeper. His white hair was kept neat and undisturbed, despite how carefree he seemed. His movements, no matter how small, held no hesitation and showed nothing but calmness. The strange coat that he wore to the very end looked much newer but was starting to show some wear and tear. She could make out some attempts in patching it up, so she figured he must've cherished it a lot.

She switched her gaze to his eyes. She could see the fire reflected in them. Robin stared at the source of warmth, only looking away when it was too much for his eyes. _Wait…_ she thought before taking another look. Though they seemed to be focused at the fire, his gaze seemed to go far beyond it.

"You're…thinking of something very deeply," she finally said.

"Haha. That's me all the time. Is that all?"

"No, that's not it. You're going about your day and all, but you never stop thinking about...something. I don't know what it is though. But it's a matter that weighs very heavily on you." The corners of his lips curved upwards in a proud but wistful smirk.

"Wow… Good job, princess." Lucina glared at him. "Looks like you don't like being called that. Sorry.

"So I got something?"

"Tell me, did 'Papa Chrom' ever tell you how he found his tactician?"

"Yeah. If I recall correctly, he was on his way back from a mission with Aunt Lissa and Frederick when they stumbled on a hobo laying on the ground." Robin snickered at the "hobo" part. "That's how he always told that story. Anyway, he helped the man up and soon he was fighting beside him as if they were old friends."

"Do you know the condition I was found in?" Lucina shook her head. "...When Chrom found me, I had no recollection of anything. To me, meeting Chrom, Lissa and Frederick was the first memory I ever had. But for some reason, I was good at fighting. I could wield a sword _and_ cast spells as if I had been doing them all my life. The rules of battle were ingrained deep in my mind from...somewhere. Could you imagine that? You wake up one day without a single memory and ready for battle."

"I can't say I could ever imagine how that feels."

"I don't expect you to...You said I was thinking deeply about something. Want to take a guess at what that is?" The girl had an idea to his constant stream of thought.

"'Who am I?'"

"Good. You're better than you think you are. I don't think I'm exactly an easy read." Robin let out a sigh. "I told him that it didn't bother me not knowing who I was; that I was okay with making new memories rather than mulling over past ones. But it's easier said than done. It's only natural that I'd want to know what kind of person I was before meeting Chrom and the rest. Could you imagine if I was an assassin or something?"

"It must bother you a lot."

"Of course. Now knowing this, what do you think? Can you trust me?"

"Honestly, I don't know. But I don't think I have much reason not to."

"I could be lying. I am a tactician, you know?. All this heart to heart might just be my way of getting what I want later on."

"I don't think so," Lucina interjected suddenly. For the first time since he found her secret, Robin was staring directly at her.

"Oh?"

"I don't think you're lying to me. After all, you still have that look in your eyes. If you were lying to me, I think I would know. Your face would show it."

"Is that so? You seem strangely ready to trust someone like me."

"I could say the same thing. I guess we're both weird that way."

"Fair point...Well then, I think we should be leaving soon. We've had ourselves quite a talk, haven't we?" Robin snapped his fingers which caused the campfire to be extinguished. An instant later, his body began emitting a strong wind that caused his body to levitate off the ground. He turned to Lucina and held out his hand. The blue haired princess seemed to hesitate, but took his hand nonetheless. "Hold tight, alright?"

"Before we go, why did you let me see you like that?"

"Why? Because I revealed your darkest secret. It's only fair that if we're going to be working together, that I should reveal to you, me at my most vulnerable in return."


End file.
